You could remove the points on the hearts by the chain ring which would make it look more modern.
"120 tooth MINI-VELO"
- Thread starter LukeTheJoker
- Start date
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The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
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Come on now, this is an LTJ bike... take it all of the way!
You can always swap out for anything smaller after it's done.
You can always swap out for anything smaller after it's done.
Everyone is making good points, I think taking into consideration the entire build may make the decision easier for me.
Flat touring bars and nice paint would work well with the 55 tooth to make a nice road/touring bike.
Flipped old style road bars and a vintage looking paint job would suit the 70 tooth, but the aluminium wheels and derailleur don't quite fit in.
Aero style time trial bars would work nice with the 120 tooth.
My original plan was no paint, strip to bare metal and clearcoat it, black tires seat brake cables and grips/bartape, I was planning to make my own wing style timetrial bars using the pool fencing, PVC pipe and apehangers.
Something like these:
More to think on...
Luke.
Flat touring bars and nice paint would work well with the 55 tooth to make a nice road/touring bike.
Flipped old style road bars and a vintage looking paint job would suit the 70 tooth, but the aluminium wheels and derailleur don't quite fit in.
Aero style time trial bars would work nice with the 120 tooth.
My original plan was no paint, strip to bare metal and clearcoat it, black tires seat brake cables and grips/bartape, I was planning to make my own wing style timetrial bars using the pool fencing, PVC pipe and apehangers.
Something like these:
More to think on...
Luke.
No paint, but black darts with red highlites, blk or wht tires. Old school drop handlebars and the sweetheart, would be classy. Although the timetrial bars would be cool too if you go with the 120 tooth. (Now I think I'm gonna have to build one of these too!)
Carl.
Carl.
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Another good evening of work!
With the sprocket finally decided on, I started work on the frame modifications to make it fit, cut out most of the drive side stay, welded in two 1/2x1/2" r.h.s. tubes side by side, braced them to the other side stay in front of the wheel and then bent the remainder of the chain stay in to meet the new part.
That all sounds very simple, but it was not I can assure you! It took about three hours to get right. Getting everything in exactly the right place was a very fine juggling act, I ended up with 2mm (1/12th") clearance between the stay and the tire and 3mm (1/8th") between the stay and the sprocket.
The reason I left slightly more on the sprocket side is that I am not 100% confident I can get the sprocket dead straight on the crank as it is so large and wants to warp from the welding heat, I also think it might pull slightly sideways in low gear due to the extreme angles involved, so left a little more room there in case that does happen.
Here is the first test spin video:
Really happy with progress, very happy with the bike, even with the monster sprocket it still feels very light and nimble, should be a great bike when it is done!
Luke.
With the sprocket finally decided on, I started work on the frame modifications to make it fit, cut out most of the drive side stay, welded in two 1/2x1/2" r.h.s. tubes side by side, braced them to the other side stay in front of the wheel and then bent the remainder of the chain stay in to meet the new part.
That all sounds very simple, but it was not I can assure you! It took about three hours to get right. Getting everything in exactly the right place was a very fine juggling act, I ended up with 2mm (1/12th") clearance between the stay and the tire and 3mm (1/8th") between the stay and the sprocket.
The reason I left slightly more on the sprocket side is that I am not 100% confident I can get the sprocket dead straight on the crank as it is so large and wants to warp from the welding heat, I also think it might pull slightly sideways in low gear due to the extreme angles involved, so left a little more room there in case that does happen.
Here is the first test spin video:
Really happy with progress, very happy with the bike, even with the monster sprocket it still feels very light and nimble, should be a great bike when it is done!
Luke.
these are the handle bars you need...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Major-Taylo...45128358?pt=US_Handlebars&hash=item3a8b4c2ca6
Me too really...
Carl.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Major-Taylo...45128358?pt=US_Handlebars&hash=item3a8b4c2ca6
Me too really...
Carl.
Just took it for a ride with only the centre 19 tooth on the rear hooked up, it is AWESOME, rides great, gearing is spot on for me at the 19, so with 3 gears either side I should be pretty well covered!
Speaking of which, I may end up dropping it down to only 5 speed or even 3 speed, there are some serious chain angles going on in the extreme outer gears...
For size reference, I am 6'4":
Luke.
Speaking of which, I may end up dropping it down to only 5 speed or even 3 speed, there are some serious chain angles going on in the extreme outer gears...
For size reference, I am 6'4":
Luke.
The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
Staff member
Moderator
Pro Member
Wisely you have chosen Luke. (Read with the voice of Yoda)
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the monster sprocket and the freewheel."
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the monster sprocket and the freewheel."
Spoken well you have!
Luke.
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me-sa think-sa you-sa all-sa craazee 
Jar Jar Glen.
Jar Jar Glen.
That Mini Velo is crazy tall compared to mine that I just got.
Nice one Glen!me-sa think-sa you-sa all-sa craazee
Jar Jar Glen.
Love that bike you got Drac!That Mini Velo is crazy tall compared to mine that I just got.
Yeah, made it the same size as my favourite XXL roadbike, I am a big guy and with road bikes this is the size I am fastest on, not many people could ride it that are shorter than me, the top bar is barely low enough for me not to injure myself when dismounting!
Almost made it too big! If I were going for a cruiser style ride or commuter bike, I would have made it much closer to the size yours is.Luke.
Edit: Hey @dracothered, what size and brand are your tires and what pressure do they run? Having trouble finding some for this if I decide not to run the homemade slicks. Maxxis Roamer 20x1.65 looks like my main option, at least it will run 100psi...
I have been told by my LBS that Duro makes 20x1.25 and 20x1.5 road tires that run 100psi, but I want to at least know what they look like before I order them...
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Luke, the tires on my bike are made by Kenda K-177 20 x 1.2 with max PSI of 65. Hope that helps you out.
Thanks Drac! I think a 1.2 at 65 might be a bit under pressured for my weight, the 2 inch slicks that are currently on there are bulging a fair bit at 65 as it is... Guess I will go the Maxxis Roamers if I decide to switch the slicks out. 
That thing should really fly with 1.2's on it Drac!
Luke.
That thing should really fly with 1.2's on it Drac!
Luke.
Hope to find that out soon, but I will need it to be a little warmer out for that with less snow on the roads.Thanks Drac! I think a 1.2 at 65 might be a bit under pressured for my weight, the 2 inch slicks that are currently on there are bulging a fair bit at 65 as it is... Guess I will go the Maxxis Roamers if I decide to switch the slicks out.
That thing should really fly with 1.2's on it Drac!
Luke.
Personally, I think you should go with a singlespeed, or Maybe even a fixed gear. I think it would look MUCH cleaner without all of that gear junk.
Like a tiny track bike.
Like a tiny track bike.
Starting to lean that way myself Josh... Wondering what the gearing would be like with a 18t bmx freewheel...
Luke.
Free wheel maybe but a fixie on a 102 tooth crank? IF, you got it rollin' no way you gonna slam it into reverse to stop, from the theoretical top speed of the deathtrap... I stripped all the cables off of mine too, but cables can be ran neatly thru the tubes for a trick look... If it has a bad axe top speed it's gonna need good brakes. Might as well make it easy to launch... I think multi-speed.
Carl.
Carl.
Hey @luke this might help you some on tires. Kenda Kwest Commuter
Thanks Drac! I have some of those Kwest's in a 700c size and am fairly impressed with them, that might be just what the doctor ordered! 
Small update: Decided to throw a 18t coaster brake wheel on with one of my spare slicks, (had to space the axle out to meet the wide dropouts with some spare half nuts.) looks much nicer:
Not a fan of the coaster brake on this though, you really need to be able to back peddle the cranks around to the right point to get a good start. The 120-18 tooth combination is also a bit too high for starting off, and still fairly high when you get going so think I will chase down a 19 or 20 tooth BMX single speed freewheel for it, clean looks of the coaster brake without the drawbacks, also allows me symmetry with the brake levers...
120-19 is 126.31 gear inch's, 120-20 is 120. Not much difference but the 120-18 at 133.33 is just a bridge too far...
Luke.
Small update: Decided to throw a 18t coaster brake wheel on with one of my spare slicks, (had to space the axle out to meet the wide dropouts with some spare half nuts.) looks much nicer:
Not a fan of the coaster brake on this though, you really need to be able to back peddle the cranks around to the right point to get a good start. The 120-18 tooth combination is also a bit too high for starting off, and still fairly high when you get going so think I will chase down a 19 or 20 tooth BMX single speed freewheel for it, clean looks of the coaster brake without the drawbacks, also allows me symmetry with the brake levers...
120-19 is 126.31 gear inch's, 120-20 is 120. Not much difference but the 120-18 at 133.33 is just a bridge too far...
Luke.
